Oooh! I came across this post and found some real gems of info for anyone who is hoping to promote their online store and optimize their website.
Check it out:
http://www.squidoo.com/101WaysToPromoteYourOnlineStore

One of my steps towards this was to create a brand new Facebook page for Wear Me Jewels which can be found at: http://www.facebook.com/wearmejewels .
I did this on Wednesday and have some followers (27) which is a start. I am thinking the the facebook page could be a great way to stay in touch with customers, more real-time then a monthly newsletter. I is a wonderful place to add new items, offer coupons, etc...
I learned some things while setting up my facebook fan page. The first was that you need to have 25 subscribers before you can shorten your url to your business name from the big long number filled url that they initially give you. Once you have your first 25 fans go to Http://www.facebook.com/username to make this change. A shorter url is much easier to remember.
That's it for now!

Whew! Four nights camping and three days selling at Faerieworlds is quite the experience. Here's some fun pics from my camping/vending time at the festival. The first picture is me in my booth with a pink faerie garland in my hair. Check out the chandelier- we actually had power and it looked so enchantingly sparkly lit up.
The Faerie in black is actually a customer wearing my freshwater pearl birds nest earrings. I sold jewelry to faeries, gypsy's, belly dancers, escapees from Renaissance fairs, elves, and all manner or strange and magnificent creatures.

Whew! It sure is a lot of work getting ready for a multi-day festival. Faerieworlds is coming up this week. I've been busy making as much jewelry as I can, figuring out how I want my displays to look, etc...
Faerieworlds is a festival held outside of Eugene, Oregon. Ed , Emily, and I will be camping directly behind our booth. It is pretty cool that they have the vendors camp behind their booths so we are close to our product.
I'll post some pictures of my booth and the festival soon!!

Check out Faerieworlds at their website: Faerieworlds.com

My Custom Jewelry Display-

I am so excited about my new jewelry display! I had it custom made by a woodworker friend of mine. I had looked and looked for the perfect display that would be easy to transport to craft shows and set up. Since I couldn't find one, I had to design my own. I am delighted with how it turned out. Unfortunately (only since I love this one and want to use it right away), I had this one made for my sister who does shows for me, but I am having a larger version made for myself soon.
This one is designed to fit inside a rolling crate (bought at Staples) for easy transport. It is about 20" tall and 13.5" wide when closed. As you can see- it holds a lot . It should hold at least 30 (3 1/2" long- business card size) earring cards. I have a piece of foam that fits snugly over the jewelry and keeps the jewelry in place when the case is closed. If you are interested in having one made- I'm sure my woodworker friend could make one for you too!
You can contact me for pricing, etc..

Wear Me Jewels Catalog: (click image to view 16 page catalog pdf)

My catalog is finished- woohoo! I actually finished it before Christmas but am just now getting a chance to blog about it. If you have been thinking about making your own catalog- here's proof that it can be done. However, it is a ton of work and I've learned some valuable lessons that will greatly benefit me when I go to have my next catalog printed. Here's some of the the things that I have learned through trial and error:
1. Make a list of the jewelry that you want to include in your catalog. Create a price list with product numbers and fabulous pictures for each item. This is probably the hardest step. It is hard to decide what to include and how to organize all of your items. Include only what you can reproduce and only items that have components that are readily available.
2. Back to the pictures. This was the most expensive and time consuming part of the process. I chose not to take the pictures myself. I found a photographer to take them for me. If you approach a photographer for this project you need discuss the following:

• Choose the background/theme and keep it consistent. I went with a white background.
• You will need either tiffs or 300dpi jpegs (I got both from my photographer). Check with the graphic designer to see what they need (most catalog printing companies have an in house designer- this is part of your printing price). My photographer for each jewelry item gave me a tiff, 300 dpi jpeg (8x8), and a 500x500 pixel web image. That way I had a version for my website as well as for print. This can cost anywhere from $15-$40 per item. I was able to negotiate the lower price because I had a large quantity of items to be photographed. These are large images and will need to be delivered to you on a DVD.
  
• Come up with a way for the photographer to name the image files- otherwise this can be a mess. They may take 10 pics of an item to get the one they like. If they deliver you 100 images that have file names like 1202-A , it is hard for you to find the picture you want. Talk about how they are going to name the image files. Ask them if they can add tags to the files (i.e the product number, description, color). When you deliver a group of items to the photographer to be photographed- include a inventory list with the product number and description of each item. Also- indicate how you want this item photographed (i.e laying flat, hanging..).
• Super important- if you have sets of items (i.e a necklace with matching earrings) or a collection of jewelry- have them photographed at the same time. My photographer did photo editing before he gave me the image files to approve. It wasn't until later that I noticed that the metal in photos he had taken a month earlier didn't match the metal of the matching earrings that I had gotten to him more recently. The problem was that he had taken it in a different light and edited it differently. Technically if you looked at the pictures separately they were good- but when you looked at them as a whole they did not look good together. That happened with a lot of items. If possible give the photographer everything at once or big groups of like items and you will avoid this issue. Be very careful before you "approve" the picture- make sure it's coloring (i.e contrast, lightness, etc..) match the other items on the same page.
• Be super clear with the photographer about what you need and what he will deliver- that will make both your jobs much easier.

I just added a great new feature to my website- Printable coupons. This is a new built-in easy to use feature on Webstorenow. There are many custom coupon designs to choose from which allow you to just add you own text. Presto- you have an instant coupon and it's super easy!
My new coupon is for 10% off any jewelry purchase online (coupon code fallsave10) or from my Wear Me Jewels booth (Eugene Saturday Market). I will also be at the Mushroom Festival (Mt. Pisgah Arboretum- South or Springfield, OR) this Sunday from 10-5pm.

I'm not a glass artist, nor do I make lampworked beads, but if I did, these mugs would be a perfect way to showcase a new bead. What a great way to give someone a gift featuring a beautifully handmade lampwork bead. I know I would love to sip a cup of coffee out of one of these mugs!!
These mugs are only $8.95 (minus the bead) from Heritage Glass.

I was the featured artist this week for the Eugene Saturday market and made it into their ad in the Eugene Weekly. In addition I was chosen as the "Beautiful booth of the month". Check out the write-up on the Saturday Market website:
Saturday Market Beautiful Booth of the Month

Creating a Wholesale Catalog:
OK, so it has been absolutely eons since I've posted on my blog. I know- no excuse for such neglect. However, I do have a big project that has just taken tons of my time and is still not completed. I decided months ago that I needed a wholesale catalog. My sister has been working as a sales rep for me and I thought "wouldn't it be convenient to have everything in a catalog". Whew.... bigger project then I imagined. However, when it's done- I think it will be a great marketing tool and resource. If you are thinking it would be great to have your own catalog- I'm going to do a series on the steps I've taken in the creation of mine. Then when it's all finished, I'll share the finished version with you for inspiration.
Before you do anything else there is some important groundwork to set which will save you lots of time later on. This is one of the hardest parts of the process.

1. Create a list of items that you would like to sell in your wholesale catalog. Seems obvious but it is a necessary and utterly important task. Write down the requirements you need your products to meet. Some ideas for requirements for an item to be included in the catalog are:

• This item must be re-producible. What if a store asked for 50 or 100 of this item. Could you realistically produce this item in the necessary quantities. Not all of you items need or should be in your wholesale catalog. Just choose the ones that fit the requirements that you set.
• Materials/Components: Can you buy the materials needed to make this item without worry of running out? What if you featured this item on the front page of your catalog and the vendor you bought the specific stone, color of pearl, etc... stopped carrying this item? What would you do? Do you have a backup resource? For the items that you choose- invest in the components/ metal/ stones, etc... Buy enough to see you through to your next catalog printing. Is silver down in price?- stock up. Are you at a great gem show?- buy enough supplies to make a large quantity of the item.
  
• Price point- Stores expect to sell your product at a minimum of twice your the price that they have bought it from you. After all, they have a lot of overhead and it doesn't make sense to buy product from you unless they can make a profit. If you have a pair of earrings that you sell at $14, you need to be able to sell them at $7 and still make some profit or it is not worth selling wholesale at all. You will probably have to adjust and re-think your pricing. Choose only products that you know the store will be successful selling at twice the wholesale you've set. Wholesale pricing can be tricky- don't undersell yourself and don't work for free. Your pricing structure needs to be consistent, profitable, fair to you, the customer, and a prospective store.

New! Liver of Sulfur Patina Gel:

This new form of Liver of Sulfur from Cool Tools is my best find yet! If you patina your silver or other metals with LOS, likely you've run into the problem of the dry lump LOS going bad. It works great when you first get it but it has a shelf life-degrading when exposed to air. I just got my new LOS patina gel and am off to give it a try.

Here is what the maker Cool Tools says about their new product:
"Cool Tools Patina Gel is liver of sulfur in a stabilized gel form. Not only is it the most convenient, easiest way to use liver of sulfur, but amazingly it does not degrade in light and air the way the lump form does. Dry liver of sulfur is very unstable and goes dead in a few hours if left uncovered or exposed to light. Liver of sulfur in liquid form is even more unstable. Cool Tools Patina Gel is stable, so even if the lid has been left off, it will remain fresh."

Also, check out their video on how to patina your metal included at the bottom of the page for ordering this product.

Summer is in full swing and so is the busy selling season. I haven't posted as regularly as I'd like, but came across this information on Google base, that I just had to share. Google Base is the database that Google uses for its “shopping” search. By following the tutorial kindly created by Kathryn Maloney on her Great Panes Blog you can create a RSS feed of your products onto Google. As we all know, the more that your products are visible, the more traffic will be driven to your site. If you get the Etsy newsletter, you probably saw the link to this information which was provided by Katheryn Maloney. If not, I'd recommend you not just bookmark this but click on the free tutorial below and start expanding your Google Base.

What is Google Base? Click here to find out more and how to have your Etsy or other website products scheduled to automatically be uploaded onto Google

Google Base Tutorial

Another helpful resource for getting your products on Google base for fellow Etsians is:
Let's Ets - A tool for Etsy Sellers

If you've been making jewelry for awhile and are looking for ways to grow as a business owner and jewelry designer, I'll outline some tips that I've learned that may be of benefit to you. First of all, it is important to realize that success does not just happen, it is the result of lots of hard work, planning, and creative thinking. So first thing I'd suggest is to come up with a business plan and do some brain-storming. Each jeweler has their own style- come up with something that reflects who you are, something unique, that can be a reflection of what you want to get across to the customer. Ask yourself these questions:
1. What is different about my product and how does it stand out from my competition?
2. How can I capitalize on those differences to make my product tell a story? A story about who I am, what my design style conveys, and the overall feel of my product line. For instance- Does your product have a whimsical theme, a nature inspired theme, a modern geometrical theme, a classical, contemporary, or organic theme? Do you use a lot of natural stones, silver, glass, pearls, etc... If you consistently have customers use the same words to describe your jewelry- that is the theme that is coming across.
3. Once you have come up with a thematic direction for your product- it is time to create branding.
I have a consistent dragonfly theme that I use in my business cards, earring cards, tags, website banner, and craft faire booth banner. I use a similar picture/logo on each which has my web address included (super important). I was able to put together the design of all of these with the help of an Etsy graphic artist: For Keeps . She did all of the design work for the business cards, earring cards, website banner, and booth vinyl banner, giving me a cohesive look. I then took the earring cards and had them printed at Vista Print (as business cards)- super cost effective. I had the business cards printed at Overnight Prints (they have a high end glossy uv coating which I love). I had Redhead Diva (another Etsy artist) print the stickers for my boxes. I printed the hang tags myself on my printer. The front of the hand tag also doubles as a logo/avatar. The website banner was easy to load onto my website and Etsy site. Lastly the vinyl banner was taken care of by For Keeps- she works with a company that does the printing and shipping of these. The vinyl banner is excellent quality- thick waterproof vinyl. It has heavy duty grommets, perfect for hanging. The tricky thing about something large like a vinyl banner is that it must be created in a scaled vector graphics format. You cannot take your website jpeg banner and send it off to be printed as a vinyl banner. It will not scale correctly and look horrible. A graphic that is created as a vectorized graphic (using Adobe Illustrator, etc..) could be printed on a business card or printed on the side of a bus and will look exactly the same. So, having said that, it is helpful to have someone create the graphic and send it off in the format that will work.
Once your created your branding, you'll find that you are much more memorable in the customers mind. Imagine you are a customer and have walked around a big craft fair looking at booths or browsed through a website, like Etsy, looking at jewelry. The more you see a business's name, the more your will remember that business. That is why a catchy business name, web presence, and branding are so important. Stay tuned for more about picking the right business name and creating a web presence in future Jewelry Business Tips installments.

I thought it would be fun to post some pics of my workspace. This is me at my soldering station and work bench. I split my work between the garage, where I do my soldering, hammering, and other loud, toxic, or flammable tasks and my office.

If you have some pics of your work area, please post. I found some great pictures of various artists work benches on the Ganoskin Jewelers Bench Exchange. It is fun to take a peek at where other people create.

Wow, I haven't posted on my blog for quite awhile. I've been a major blog slacker. However, I have been busy getting ready for the first day of the Eugene Saturday Market which happened last Saturday. It was a picture perfect day. Wonderful weather and a steady stream of customers. I'll try to remember to take some pics next week. If your able, stop by the market this Saturday from 10-5 and say "Hi", (I'm in booth 21). There are some great new vendors, lots of yummy food, and tons of fresh produce at the Farmer's Market across the street. Hope to see you there!

March Product Spotlight:

Proxxon Bench Vise

I just got this vise yesterday in the mail and can't say enough good things about it. This is a quality German made, vise. It is the best vise ever! Well, I guess I have to admit that this is my first small bench vise. Up to now, I've been using the huge beat up one that my husband has on his workbench (which works great for holding the ring mandrel and hammering stuff). However, this one is so perfect for small things like setting stones in bezels. I love the fact that it can be clamped to your bench or screwed in for more permanent placement. It also swivels, so if you are setting a stone in a bezel, you can swivel the vise and don't need to keep taking your ring out to move it around. The removable rubber jaws are wonderful also. You don't want to do a bunch of work and have your silver marred by your vise. I found this vise at Rio Grande for only $37.99 (Item number 205083).

Biggest and best tax tip summed up in one word: Quickbooks.
Up to now, I have been fighting using Quickbooks. Accounting is not my favorite thing to do and I tend to be a major procrastinator when it comes to any book-keeping chores. And that is definitely how I see it - a chore. I'd much rather be making jewelry or any other of a myriad of activities. I'm sure many jewelry designers are just like me.
So for 2009 my new years resolution was to use Quickbooks. I initially had some problems setting it up. I would suggest having your accountant of other tax savvy person do your initial chart of accounts setup and run you through how to enter in your expenses, etc.. It can get a bit confusing.....In addition to my business checking account, two savings accounts, paypal account, I have a business credit card. Each of these accounts needs to be created and reconciled monthly. I am happy to say that I reconciled my accounts this weekend and am completely caught up. That is a wonderful feeling and I know that I won't have to go through the huge time consuming task that was before me last week- preparing my 2008 (pre-quickbooks) taxes for my accountant.
So last week I had to gather all of my expenses which was a 8" folder chalk full of receipts.
I spent two full days going through this humongous folder of my expenses, organizing and categorizing everything to prepare it for the "hand over". Then I had to organize and categorize all of my income sources. This is so much work every year and not very fun. I am so glad that next year, I can just send my accountant my Quickbooks file. I also have loved being able to print all kinds of reports to find out how my money is being spent. It is really eye-opening knowing exactly where you stand at any moment in both your income and expenses. If you don't already use Quickbooks, I would highly recommend it.

My peapod earrings are featured in an Etsy treasury!

You can see these peapod earrings on my website or Etsy store.

Valentine's Day is just around the corner. Check out Wear Me Jewels Valentine's jewelry!